Democrats begin to pull ahead in local Assembly races

Democrats Chris Holden and Mike Gatto expanded their leads ahead early Wednesday morning in the race for the 41st and 43rd Assembly seats, respectively.

With about a quarter of precincts reporting as of 1 a.m., Gatto received 29,436 votes, or 59.1%, a nearly 20-percentage point lead over his opponent, Republican Greg Krikorian, according to the California Secretary of State. The 43rd District covers Burbank, Glendale, La Cañada Flintridge as well as parts of the city of Los Angeles.

In the 41st District, Holden, a longtime Pasadena city councilman, pulled in 42,891 votes, or 57.2%, compared to his GOP rival, Claremont businesswoman Donna Lowe with 40% of precincts reporting. The district covers a wide range of cities in the San Gabriel Valley foothills and beyond, stretching from Pasadena to Upland in San Bernardino County.

The vote count trickled in through Tuesday night and into the next morning, delays due to heavy fog in parts of Los Angeles County.

-- Dan Evans, Times Community News
email: dan.evans@latimes.com
Twitter: @EditorDanEvans